Good Trouble

Growing up I often heard the stories of the segregated south told by my grandparents who migrated from Mississippi to Chicago in the 1940’s. My mother often spoke of viewing the body of Emmitt Louis Till, a 14-year-old African American who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a white woman in her family's grocery store.

As I child, I visited the south a few times but was not intimately acquainted with the racism that gave rise to the Civil Rights Movement. However, the human rights work of men and women like Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. Coretta Scott King, Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, Ella Baker, Andrew Young, Rev. CT Vivian and John Lewis were kept alive by the conversations at home, church and school.

On July 17, 2020, Congressman John Lewis passed away at the age of 80 after a six-month battle with cancer on the same day as his friend and fellow civil rights activist C.T. Vivian. Lewis had been the final surviving "Big Six" civil rights icon who was the youngest speaker at the Poor People’s March on Washington in 1968.

Last week, I joined a small group of black women in civic, education and religious leadership at the Georgia State Capitol in protest of the lawsuit filed by Governor Brian Kemp against Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for enforcing a mandate to wear masks and keeping the citizens of Atlanta safe. On Day 3 of our protest, we were privileged to attend the State Funeral of Rev. CT Vivian who laid in the Rotunda of the Georgia State Capitol for the community to pay our respect.

A week later, I was blessed to pay respect to Congressman John Lewis as he laid in state at the Georgia State Capitol. I had the privilege of riding with my Soror, Tisa Smart Washington who shared personal stories of what it was like to know and work closely with the Congressman. My line mate, Joseph Brown shared personal stories of Congressman John Lewis, Rev. CT Vivian and what it was like to grow up as a member of the 16th Street Baptist Church that was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963 killing four black girls, Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Carol Denise McNair (11).

Attending the State funerals of two Civil Rights Leaders has left a lasting impression on me. I leave these experiences ready to do my part in the fight for justice. Thank you to men and women like Congressman John Lewis for teaching us how to “get in the way” and get into “good trouble.” I’ll demonstrate my gratitude in the service I give in my home, in the church, in the community and the world.

Dr. Toni